I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9165 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a grant program to 

allocate resources for remote search and rescue activities conducted on 

Federal land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior 

or the Secretary of Agriculture, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2024 

Ms. MALOY (for herself, Mr. CASE, and Mr. CURTIS) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in 

addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a grant 

program to allocate resources for remote search and rescue activities conducted on Federal land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary 

of Agriculture, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Land Search 

5 and Rescue Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR REMOTE SEARCH AND RES2 CUE ACTIVITIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es5 tablish a program to provide grants to allocate resources 

6 for remote search and rescue activities conducted on Fed7 eral land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary or the 

8 Secretary of Agriculture. 

9 (b) APPLICATION.—To be eligible for a grant under 

10 the Program, an eligible recipient shall submit to the Sec11 retary an application in such form, at such time, and con12 taining such information as the Secretary determines to 

13 be appropriate. 

14 (c) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize appli15 cations from eligible recipients that serve an area with a 

16 high ratio of visitors to residents. 

17 (d) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 

18 of an eligible purpose funded under the Program shall not 

19 exceed 75 percent of the total cost of the eligible purpose, 

20 as determined by the Secretary. 

21 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) ELIGIBLE PURPOSE.—The term ‘‘eligible 

23 purpose’’ means— 

24 (A) the purchase of equipment and gear 

25 necessary for remote search and rescue activi26 ties; 


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1 (B) the cost of maintenance and repair of 

2 remote search and rescue equipment owned or 

3 leased by an eligible recipient; and 

4 (C) reimbursement to an eligible recipient 

5 for remote search and rescue activities con6 ducted on Federal land under the jurisdiction of 

7 the Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture. 

8 (2) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

9 recipient’’ means a State, political subdivision there10 of, or their designee, that is— 

11 (A) authorized by State or Federal law to 

12 conduct remote search and rescue activities; 

13 and 

14 (B) determined by the Secretary to have 

15 the capability to carry out a project described 

16 in subsection (d). 

17 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

18 the program established under subsection (a). 

19 (4) REMOTE SEARCH AND RESCUE ACTIVITY.— 

20 The term ‘‘remote search and rescue activity’’ means 

21 an activity that uses, trains, or supports responders 

22 with specialized equipment to— 

23 (A) locate and recover the remains of de24 ceased individuals in remote areas; and 


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1 (B) locate, provide assistance to, and re2 move to safety individuals who are lost, injured, 

3 stranded, or entrapped in remote areas. 

4 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

5 the Secretary of the Interior. 

Æ 


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